PHILADELPHIA REGIONAL FUTURE CITY COMPETITION
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
|
PHILADELPHIA REGIONAL FUTURE CITY COMPETITION PROGRAM OVERVIEW |
|
Delaware Valley Engineers Week annually hosts the Philadelphia Regional Future City Competition as part of the Engineers Week activities. The program is a 501.c.3 educational outreach program of National Engineers week. It is one of 40 Regional programs conducted throughout the country with the goal to introduce middle school students to the engineering profession. The Future City Program was recently added to the National Association of Secondary School Principals' National Advisory List of Student Contests and Activities.
Students in middle schools in the Delaware Valley form teams consisting of 6th, 7th and 8th grade students who work with a teacher and an engineer mentor from September to January to:
Registration for each year's program begins in March and ends in October. The cost to schools is $25 Registration fee and a maximum of $100 in materials to build the model. The Philadelphia Program has involved from 30 to 50 schools each year since its beginning in 1995. The program provides the schools with the computer software, handbook with Teacher's guide, video CD orientation, prior competition videos and assistance from the Regional School Coordinator. The culmination of the program is an all day judging competition in Philadelphia in January. The first place Philadelphia Regional team travels to Washington, DC during National Engineers Week in February where they compete with the 39 other regional teams from around the country for the national prizes. The Philadelphia teams have always placed well nationally and in 1999 took first place.
In addition to the first place regional awards, Future City also provides "Special Awards" in a number of areas related to engineering of cities. These awards provide the students the opportunity to present their cities to more than just the competition judges and provide them with a feeling of accomplishment even if they were not a finalist in the competition. Last year, there were over 40 special awards presented and every team went home with at least one award. Additionally, all of the teams were provided with Future City tee shirts and various other items.
Future City is volunteer run and uses the support of the entire engineering community. Over 200 volunteer engineers work on the program each year as committee members, mentors, organizers and judges. The mentors have the most rewarding part in the competition since they have the opportunity to directly share their engineering expertise with the students, working with them to develop their cities and presentations.
Why not get involved in this exciting educational program? Contact us for additional information on the program or go to our web site:
c/o John E. Kampmeyer, PE
150 Saxer Avenue --- Springfield, PA 19064
Phone - 610-328-3020 coordinator2012@futurecityphilly.org